Learning Benchmarks​

We recognize that children learn different skills at different times in their lives. Some may read at age four while others don’t show interest in reading until eight or nine. Our benchmark achievement lists allow flexibility for all learning styles. Instead of listing skill sets by grade, we provide a list of skills to be achieved within three phases of learning: the Wonder Years, the Love for Learning Years, and the Learning for Life Years. Parents may refer to these lists to guide their child’s learning and create awareness of the concepts listed. As children respond to various learning opportunities, they will show natural desires to pursue specific areas of study. Parents may increase opportunity to explore topics that hold the child’s greatest interest while creating minimum standards of achievement in areas of lesser interest but still important to learn as a life skill.

Inspire Not Require

The Learning Benchmarks are guidelines, not guilt-trips. As parents refer to the Learning Benchmarks, we encourage them to use the “inspire not require” principle of education. Our ultimate goal is to foster a love for learning within the child. The achievement list should not be used as a rigid standard to cause feelings of frustration and discouragement but rather as a tool for parents to refer to as they provide opportunity for their children to have a variety of learning opportunities. Parents may consider placing a copy of the current achievement list in their personal or family planner to use as a reference.

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Guides for Student Created Textbooks

When students are old enough to take more responsibility for their own education, the achievement lists may be placed in the student planner/portfolio to be used as a student reference. The achievement lists for science and history may be particularly useful when placed at the beginning of student-created textbooks. Students are not expected to have an entry in the textbook for every item on the list, but instead they may select topics from the list for journal page ideas. The Learning Benchmarks list the topics, concepts, and skills that students typically understand before entering a college or university.